A CONCERT in Malvern featuring Ukrainian and Russian musicians side-by side on the same platform is being staged as a plea for peace in the war-torn region.

The concert has been arranged by promoter Margarete Rolle of Malvern, who for many years has been bringing the Ukrainian Boyan Ensemble of Kiev to the UK, to ecstatic responses.

But this year, the ensemble is unable to visit Britain, partly because of the continuing conflict in its home land.

In response Ms Rolle is putting on a concert at Great Malvern Priory, featuring featuring bass-baritone Vassily Savenko with two Russian friends, plus two more concerts in Wiltshire.

"Ukrainian-born Vassily, a Malvern resident, is a regular guest soloist with Boyan, so fans will have the privilege of recalling his splendid performances with those of the choir," she said.

"However, in these concerts, he is joined by Russian baritone Alexey Gusev, and Moscow pianist Alexander Blok, in an exciting programme of arias, art songs and Russian and Ukrainian folk songs.

"A further motive has also prompted these concerts: it concerns my wish for peace between Russia and Ukraine and an end to the geopolitical conflict that has claimed more than 10,000 lives, destroyed most of the Donbass region in the east of Ukraine, isplaced millions of its inhabitants as well as precipitating a new cold war between Russian and the USA.

"Music is a powerful common denominator that transcends all conflict, including language barriers, and the artistic collaboration of these three internationally-acclaimed artists confirms this. Here we have a Ukrainian singing Russian songs, and a Russian,singing Ukrainian songs."

The programme will include songs by Rachmaninov, Tchaikovsky, Rimsky-Korsakov and Balakirev, arias from Mussorgsky’s Boris Godunov, Tchaikovsky’s Eugene Onegin and from the Italian repertoire and a selection of Russian and Ukrainian folk songs.

The Malvern concert is on Wednesday, October 5, and tickets, at £18, are available from the Malvern Bookshop on the Priory Steps off Abbey Road. The shop is open from Wednesday to Saturday, 10am to 4pm.